Contact & Staff Information

Main Email: sklrship@uci.edu

Telephone: (949) 824-0189

Fax: (949) 824-9761

Mail:

Scholarship Opportunities Program
193 Science Library
Irvine, CA 92697-5695

Hours of Operation: Monday-Thursday, 9am-5pm, Friday, 9am-4pm (during the academic school year).

Our office is located in the 1st floor of the Science Library, in the Center for Excellence in Writing & Communication.

Note: Due to the Writing Center's study area being frequently crowded, we ask that you not bring in any wheeled transportation devices, such as skateboards or scooters. This policy is to ensure the safety of our staff and visitors. Thank you for helping us keep our workplace accident-free!

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Rose Jones

Director | rjones@uci.edu

Dr. Rose Jones oversees the activities of UCI's Scholarship Opportunities Program, which encourages and supports high-achieving undergraduates and recent alumni in applying for 17 nationally and internationally prestigious, merit-based scholarships. She holds a doctorate from UC Irvine, while her M.A. and B.A. both come from the University of Kansas. Before becoming an Anteater, she was a Research Fellow at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universitaet in Heidelberg, Germany, through a DAAD Research Grant. A strong proponent of higher education, she has taught in multiple departments across the UCI campus. Dr. Jones is also Director of UCI's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious honor society (https://phibetakappa.uci.edu/).

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Courtney Santos

Scholarship Advisor & Writing Specialist | cjsantos@uci.edu

Courtney earned a MFA in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts from UC Riverside, a BA in English from UC Irvine, and a Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from UCI Extension. A low-income transfer student, she was the first in her family to attend college. Prior to becoming a Writing Specialist in 2014, she provided comprehensive administrative support to major research projects at the Digital Media & Learning Research Hub at UC Humanities Research Institute and at the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UCI. These positions honed her skills in grant writing, information literacy, writing for academic publications, and public-facing communications. In her first three years at SOP, Courtney expanded the participation of international and undocumented students and developed new online resources to support scholarship applicants. As of 2018, Courtney has served as primary Scholarship Advisor for recipients of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants, the Goldwater Scholarship, the Strauss Scholarship, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and an alternate and a finalist for Schwarzman Scholars.

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Brendan Park

Scholarship Advisor & Writing Specialist | brendanp@uci.edu

Park earned his MFA in Creative Writing, Fiction, from UC Irvine in 2014 and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the College of Wooster. He has worked extensively as a lecturer at UCI, teaching all courses in the 39 series, upper-division writing courses and Academic English, and creative writing and craft classes. His rich and varied experience working with students on their writing led him eventually to the Center for Excellence in Writing and Communication, where he began working as a Writing Specialist in 2017 and soon transitioned to the Scholarship Opportunities Program, where he is continually excited to support students in pursuing their dreams. He has served as either primary or secondary advisor for applicants across a wide variety of disciplines, interests, and awards, including a number of winners and finalists.

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Brenda Fisher

Office Manager | blfisher@uci.edu

No photograph or bio available per request.

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An Nguyen | she/her/hers

Lead Student Advisor & Student Ambassador | sklrship@uci.edu

An is a fourth year, majoring in Political Science. She is originally from Riverside, California. An’s passion for social justice is rooted in her upbringing as the child of Vietnamese political refugees. In her hometown, she learned about community values and how to effectively advocate for her community. Her obligation to her community, still afflicted with refugee trauma and survivor guilt, translates into her past and current research projects on community resilience, Southeast Asian deportations, the school-to-prison-to-deportation pipeline, and API-serving organizational effectiveness. As a first-generation college student, she hopes to empower undergraduates in pursuing scholarships to advance their academic and professional endeavors beyond the baccalaureate.

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Darren De Leon

Lead Student Advisor | sklrship@uci.edu

Darren is a fourth year at the University of California, Irvine, majoring in Political Science with a minor in International Studies. He was born and raised in North Hollywood, California, a quaint but nevertheless eccentric “borough” of Los Angeles. As a first-generation college student entering his fourth year of working with SOP, he is proud to lead, serve, and participate in efforts that further the success of UCI undergraduate students.

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Sophia Baluyot Donaire

Student Advisor | sklrship@uci.edu

Sophia is a second year biological sciences major, a student advisor at the Scholarship Opportunities Program, and a Walrus peer tutor in the Writing Center. Some of her accomplishments include obtaining a Disney Scholarship and becoming a finalist for the Nora Folkenflik Essay award. As a student staff member, she wishes to direct students toward exploring all possibilities for their careers during and after their undergrad years.

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Yvette Sanders  | she/her/hers

Student Advisor | sklrship@uci.edu

Yvette is a transfer student currently in her senior year completing a B.A. in Sociology. She is a member of the Campuswide Honors Collegium and the Sociology Honors Program. She has completed and presented research projects relating to sex and sexualities at various conferences, including the UROP Symposium at UCI. As a student advisor at SOP, she hopes to guide students to scholarships and resources on campus that will enrich their experiences at UCI.

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Anjali Nambiar

Student Advisor | sklrship@uci.edu

Anjali is a first-year biological sciences major at UC Irvine. In addition to learning about the intricacies of living organisms, she loves reading everything from dystopian literature to philosophy and enjoys writing poetry and short stories, as well. She is excited to be assisting students in the scholarship application process and introducing them to the wealth of resources SOP provides to the campus community.  
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Aline Pham

Student Advisor | sklrship@uci.edu

Aline is a first year Education Sciences major at UC Irvine who aspires to be an elementary teacher and principal. Her passion for teaching and community service are reflected in her commitment as an ASUCI intern, Viet Student Association Intern, swim instructor, and tutor. She is thrilled to work at SOP, where she can help her fellow anteaters pursue their own academic and career goals.  
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Christian Robles

Student Advisor | sklrship@uci.edu

Christian is a third-year at the University of California, Irvine, double majoring in Psychological Sciences and Education Sciences. He was born and raised in San Diego California. Christian is passionate about mentorship and student affairs. Throughout his experience at UCI, he has had the opportunity to serve, guide, lead, and mentor students of all ages. From being a tutor, to a resident advisor, to a discussion leader, Christian is now proud and happy to be part of the SOP team, ready to assist students in the application process and help them navigate and explore the plentiful amount of resources SOP and UCI has to offer.
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Keefer Hurley

Student Advisor
Marketing and Communications Development Intern | sklrship@uci.edu

Keefer Hurley is a third-year transfer student majoring in English with an emphasis in marketing and communications through a minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UCI. As a marketing and communications intern for the Scholarship Opportunities Program and Phi Beta Kappa, Keefer is looking forward to bringing his prior experience working with marketing media to the team. Having worked as an English and writing tutor for several years, Keefer also specializes in student advising for both SOP and PBK.
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Danielle Heredia

Marketing and Communications Development Intern | sklrship@uci.edu

Danielle is a fourth-year business administration student in the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine, emphasizing in marketing with a minor in Digital Arts. She is the current marketing and communications development intern for the Scholarship Opportunities Program and Phi Beta Kappa. For 3 years, Danielle has been working as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer, having her work published in two books and various UCI-sponsored events.

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Richard Magdaluyo

Marketing and Communications Development Intern Assistant | sklrship@uci.edu

Richard is a third-year computer engineering student in the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine. As a media intern assistant, he is excited to learn effective ways of communicating with high-achieving students about the services and resources offered by the SOP regarding several prestigious scholarships beneficial to their continued success.